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The family of a new father who died during a drug trial at the Royal Marsden has finally won compensation.

Gareth Kingdon, 39, suffered severe lung damage while having treatment for testicular cancer at the world leading hospital in 2006. The tax director, whose son was only a few months old, suffered fatal side effects from a chemotherapy drug used in the trial.

Staff at the hospital failed to spot the symptoms and carried on giving him the drug for another four weeks. The NHS has now agreed to pay his family a settlement believed to be a six figure sum.

The Royal Marsden apologised to Mr Kingdon’s widow, although the trust has not admitted liability.

Victoria Kingdon claimed the Marsden acted as though there was “nothing to investigate” when she contacted them after her husband’s death on December 29, 2006.

She also paid tribute to a “generous and loyal” husband who would not see his son Gus grow up.

Mrs Kingdon, from Tunbridge Wells, said: “I feel disappointed the hospital failed to provide me with an acceptable response in the period following Gareth’s death. I wrote to them with my concerns, and their reply implied that his death was statistically acceptable and there was nothing to investigate.

“My family now has confirmation that Gareth did not receive appropriate treatment, and an assurance that processes have been changed so this will not happen again. Gareth was a wonderful father, son, friend and husband. He was known by family and friends for being kind, funny, quick-witted, self-effacing, generous and loyal. I feel lucky many of his best qualities live on in Gus.”

'Mr Kingdon was the first patient to die during the same
drug trial. The secondwas graphic designer Gary Foster, 27, who was
given an overdose of bleomycin while taking part at University College London
Hospitals NHS trust.'

The trial, TE23, was testing whether a combination of five drugs was better at treating testicular cancer than a standard three-drug regime. At first Mr Kingdon responded well. But in October 2006 he developed a dry cough, a symptom of lung damage caused by the toxic effects of the cancer drug bleomycin. A chest X-ray also revealed changes consistent with bleomycin toxicity.

Yet radiology and oncology staff dismissed these warning signs and carried on giving him the drug. Law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, who represented Mrs Kingdon, argued that his death from drug side effects could have been prevented if doctors had stopped giving him bleomycin. It was also claimed that there was a breakdown in communication between the oncology and radiology departments.

Solicitor Mark Bowman said: “The Royal Marsden is renowned throughout the UK, indeed the world, as a leader in cancer care. In this instance, it fell short. This case revealed a worrying breakdown in the system. It can only be hoped lessons will be learned to avoid other people having to suffer the same tragedy as my client.”

The treatment before Mr Kingdon’s death was carried out at the Sutton branch of the Royal Marsden. During his illness he had been treated at both the hospital’s Sutton and Fulham sites. His family said all other treatment up to that point had been “exemplary”.

A spokeswoman for the NHS Foundation Trust said: “Gareth Kingdon sadly died following treatment with bleomycin for testicular cancer. The Trust did not accept liability in relation to the claim made ... The claim was settled on a substantially discounted litigation risk basis, as it was not possible to determine whether the bleomycin treatment ought to have been stopped earlier, and whether or not this would have made any difference to the outcome.

“The Trust has apologised to Mrs Kingdon for any possibility that care was not of the highest standard which is to be expected by all patients.”